Taliban fighters are 'conditioned' to die in battle, claims former insurgent

A former insurgent in Afghanistan has told how he survived daily battles with
British troops and why he decided to join the peace process in what is
believed to be the first ever interview given by a member of the Helmand
Taliban.

Every morning just before dawn, as the sun rose over the central Helmand plain, Abdul Mohammed would pray to Allah, clean his rifle and prepare to kill British soldiers.

For two years, Abdul, who is married with a young son, served as Taliban foot soldier in one of the most violent and battle-scared areas of southern Afghanistan.

"I expected to be killed in battle – but that didn't worry me," he said. "I never thought about death. If I was told go on a suicide attack, I would have done so. I was a committed Taliban fighter, being with the Taliban was my life.

"The British soldiers were my enemy, they would try and kill me, so I'd try to kill them."

But last month, after seeing hundreds of his friends and family killed in battle, Abdul turned his back on the insurgency and joined the peace process under the Nato-backed strategy of "reintegration".

In what is believed to be the first ever interview by a member of the Helmand Taliban, the former insurgent told The Sunday Telegraph, how he survived daily battles with British troops and why he decided to join the peace process.

Abdul agreed to the interview only after lengthy negotiations between the district governor, an "intermediary" and The Sunday Telegraph.

Until 2008, Abdul and his family enjoyed a simple existence: growing crops, tending his small herd of goats and living in hope that his young son, Babrak, might one day go to school and become an engineer.

But those dreams were shattered when, he says, a violent warlord seized control of his district and began robbing and killing members of his family and friends.

Abdul claimed that in desperation he felt compelled to join the Taliban – the British troops had yet to arrive in the area and the insurgents were the only organisation capable of confronting the man, who he describes as a "commander".

In an interview held within a compound belonging to district governor Nabi Bullah, the former Taliban fighter, said: "The only group who was prepared to oppose the warlord were the Taliban.

"As a good Muslim I could not stand by a let this man rob and kill my people. So I joined them. I wanted to fight against this man and his private army. He would put people in jail until they paid him money.

"He once caught someone stealing his car and set the man alight in the car and burned him to death. He did what ever he wanted."

But when the warlord was replaced by British troops from the Nato-led International Security and Assistance Force (Isaf), the Taliban continued with their attacks.

Abdul cuts a striking pose in his Afghan-style suit and brown turban. He is lean, smartly dressed, courteous, intelligent and there is a steeliness in his eyes common in those who have survived combat.

He went on: "I took part in many battles against Isaf troops and the Afghan National Police and Army. Very many of my friends were killed in the battles.

"We were just told go and attack that base, that checkpoint or ambush those soldiers. You fire your weapons and you hope that you will hit the target.

"I don't know if I killed anybody, I can't exactly say that I killed anyone – it is very difficult to tell in battle, there is lots of firing, I was scared, everybody is scared. I was trying to kill them and they were trying to kill me.

"It is possible I killed members of Isaf, British soldiers and the police, but I cannot say for sure."

Abdul said that the fighters were "conditioned" to die in battle by his junior commanders who told them that achieving martyrdom was the greatest honour for a Muslim.

He continued: "I never cared for my own life – none of us did. We were prepared to die or fight to the death, sometimes it was like committing suicide because we would attack and suffer very heavy casualties. When I first joined we would attack the local forces every day but it has become more difficult since Isaf arrived in the area. We couldn't match their fire power.

"We were told, 'you must keep Isaf and the police busy' so we would attack but it was very dangerous, we lost a lot of men. Nearly all my friends were killed in the fighting. We were only armed with AK47s and PKMs (a Russian made 7.62mm general purpose machine gun) and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs). But it was very difficult to get to get warheads for the RPG – it would cost us 50 to 60 United States dollars and we just didn't have that sort of money."

Abdul claims that he was never involved in laying improvised explosive devices (IEDs) but British troops in the area said that this claim was "almost certainly false" given that home made bombs are the favoured weapon of the insurgents.

None of the Taliban volunteers fighting in the Nad e'Ali area were given any formal military training, according to Abdul. They learnt the art of combat while fighting British and Afghan troops; those who were good survived, the rest were either wounded or died in combat.

Their only solace was that they would never be left on the battlefield and, according to Islamic custom, would be buried within 24 hours of death.

He added: "The Taliban gave me and an AK 47 and said, 'now you must fight'.

"I fought with the Taliban for two years and I expected to be killed every day. So many of my friends were killed. I thought I would never see my family again."

Abdul was one of a force of around 160 Taliban fighters who fought in the Nad e'Ali and Marjah areas of central Helmand. As well as local Afghans, his unit was composed of Tajiks, Uzbeks, Arabs, Chechens and Pakistanis, but he was insistent that there were no Britons fighting in his unit.

Abdul said the foreign fighters kept themselves apart from the Afghan Taliban, who they regarded as being less committed to the cause of global Jihad.

He added: "The Chechens were the most committed fighters and the best. The worst were the Arabs, they would often run away when the shooting started."

He said that on one occasion he and around ten others fighters were ordered to attack a base in the Nad e'Ali area last November, which they believed was occupied by the Afghan police.

He went on: "We shot at the sentry positions, but the troops inside were from Isaf. They fired a missile into a compound and killed five of my friends. I went in after the explosion and there was nothing left of them, just body parts lying on the floor and spread across the walls. My best friend was killed – it was the only time I cried in two years."

The only time his Taliban unit came together as a force was to pray.

Abdul said they all asked Allah to help them be strong in battle and die fighting for Islam.

Battle orders were issued over radios, known as Icoms, via junior commanders. The senior Taliban leader was rarely seen and never took part in combat.

He continued: "I never met my commander – we would just receive orders through junior commanders. But we were treated quite well by our leaders although we were never paid."

The Taliban in central Helmand lived a nomadic existence, constantly on the move and were always fearful that their presence might be discovered by Isaf forces.

The junior commanders would demand food, shelter and money from the local Afghans.

Those who refused were punished and often threatened with death.

He continued: "Life was very hard when I was with the Taliban. We didn't have enough food to eat and we had to take it from the local people. The Taliban would force the people to give them food and accommodation.

"We would take over two or three compounds and force the people who lived there to leave, if they objected they were threatened with death.

"We would take their money and their possessions to fund our battles. I didn't have any choice but to do the same. I didn't like it but I was part of the insurgency so this is what we did.

"We slept in large rooms in the winter, but in some we slept outside. We had to be careful. In the last year the Isaf troops would go looking for us so we always had a sentry and had to be ready to move very quickly.

"We mainly survived on rice and mutton, sometimes we would go for two or three days without food. Some times it was just bread or fruit."

Abdul claimed he decided to leave the Taliban after attending a Shura in the hamlet of Khowshal Kalay, in the area of Nad e'Ali, where the Governor Bullah addressed local elders after British troops pushed the insurgents out of the area.

The governor told village elders that the British troops were friends and not enemies and that they had come to Helmand to help the Pashtuns and not to rule over them.

Before Abdul joined the peace process he contacted the district governor, via an intermediary, and said he wanted to return to his village.

Abdul is now a farmer and he claims his life of violence is in the past. His aim now is to rebuild his farm and look after his family, but he also knows that he is a marked man.

"The Taliban could kill me at any time. They could take me away but they will never allow me to join them again. I am now a wheat farmer but we are poor and I know life will be difficult.

"I used to think the Isaf troops would destroy our mosques, attack our families and rape our wives. This is what the Taliban told us. They said we wouldn't be allowed to be Muslims – but I know this is not true. I have seen how they have helped the local people, they have built schools and mosques.

"Now, I think as long as the British soldiers are here to help us, we are happy. We only ask, 'do not interfere with our religion' and you can stay as long as you like.

"There are many members of the Taliban who want to leave and join the peace process, I know of at least 10, they want to go back to their families and sleep safely and enjoy a meal – but some are scared because they fear they might go prison for the crimes they have committed."

The reintegration process is being conducted on an ad hoc, case-by-case basis but there is no formal policy or direction from central government on what to do with those members of the Taliban who want to be reintegrated into their former villages, according to the governor.

Abdul continued: "My main wish now is for the war to stop – Afghanistan cannot survive for much longer if the fighting continues."